AVEYRON, a river and department in the s. of France. The river rises near Severae le-Chateau; flows, for the most part, in a westerly direction through the department of the same name; and, after a course of 90 m., falls into the Tarn—a feeder of the Garonne--below Montauban. It touches in its course the towns of Ilhodez,Villefranelle, and Negrepelisse.—The department of A. has an area of 3370 sq.m., and is one of the most mountainous parts of. France: Situated between the highlands of Auvergne and the Cevennes, it slopes like a terrace s.w. to the Garonne, to the basin of which the department belongs. The principal rivers flow through the department from e. to w., and between these, several rainificd offsets from the chain of the Cevennes traverse the country. 'The is healthy, but cold and raw, especially in the north and cast. North of the Lot, only rye and oats are grown; in the rest of 'the valleys, other kinds of grain also thrive, as well as fruit, chestnuts, potatoes, and truffles. A third part of the
land-is unfit for cultivation, but affords 'excellent pasture for the numerous herds of cattle, goats, and sheep, which, along with the breeding of swine, form the principal resources of the mountaineers.. 18,000 cwt. of cheese is sold yearly under the name of Roquefort cheese. The mineral wealth of the department is considerable. Coal, iron, lead, zinc, copper, vitriol, alum, and antimony are .found in abundance, the mining, preparing, and sale of which form a principal means of support to the (1876) 413,826 inhabitants. Besides these, the principal employments are paper-makingz, cotton spinning, tanning, the manufacture of woolen cloth and carpets, etc. The scat of the departmental courts is Rhodez, which is also a bishop's see.